Thanks for the recipe! I've been trying to stray away from things like Earth Balance because of the palm oil scenario and this gives me hope. Would I be able to use unrefined coconut oil instead of refined? Or would it give the butter too much of a coconut-y taste?

Reviewed by
Jason
December 08, 2013

Thanks for the recipe! I've been trying to stray away from things like Earth Balance because of the palm oil scenario and this gives me hope. Would I be able to use unrefined coconut oil instead of refined? Or would it give the butter too much of a coconut-y taste?

Owner's reply

Hi Jason,

I have a version called Coconut Vegan Butter on Veganbaking.net which is designed to use unrefined coconut oil. The recipe is also designed to highlight coconut flavors. You could also just make this version and add unrefined oil and it'll still work and taste good with a little coconut flavor. Both oils are structurally the same.

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Thanks so much for posting this recipe. It's easy and a great alternative to Earth Balance which still uses palm oil. I find that when I store the cubes in the fridge (after they've been frozen) they appear to look moldy within a few weeks. What's been your experience with how long this will stay good in the fridge?

How long will this stay good in fridge

Thanks so much for posting this recipe. It's easy and a great alternative to Earth Balance which still uses palm oil. I find that when I store the cubes in the fridge (after they've been frozen) they appear to look moldy within a few weeks. What's been your experience with how long this will stay good in the fridge?

Owner's reply

Hi Dena! I have the same issues with the relatively short shelf life. I've tried adding ascorbic acid as part of the acid component and while it does increase shelf life, it adds a harsh, sharp acid profile that's not acceptable. This is still something I'd like to figure out some day. If you find a way to make Vegan Butter last longer please let me know!

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Thank you for posting this recipe. I learned a great deal from your fats article mattie. I have made this recipe a few times the buttery taste is so close to dairy butter. This is perfect for my pie crust. I used the regular butter for my first attempt at croissant making, I will be making the European style butter next.

versatile and tasty

Thank you for posting this recipe. I learned a great deal from your fats article mattie. I have made this recipe a few times the buttery taste is so close to dairy butter. This is perfect for my pie crust. I used the regular butter for my first attempt at croissant making, I will be making the European style butter next.

Owner's reply

That's a great picture of your Vegan Butter Trickmonet! I also saw a picture of your croissants which looked amazing. Thanks for sharing!

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Thank you for applying your chemistry inclined mind to vegan recipes!!!
A couple things, just to preface, I sub'd the xanthan gum for guar gum as I am sticking with all organic ingredients.
-That being said, I've made two batches now and both have filled up a little over three squares in the Tovolo ice tray, is that about right?
-I noticed when I was heating the butter on medium high heat that it started to brown and solidify a bit... is that normal?
-I'm making it primarily to use on my cupcakes and although the flavor is great, after creating my frosting I can still smell the vinegar, not taste, only smell. It's bothersome and I'm wondering if you've tried the recipe with the lemon, salt and agar agar instead?
Thanks so much again!

Cupcake frosting?

Thank you for applying your chemistry inclined mind to vegan recipes!!!
A couple things, just to preface, I sub'd the xanthan gum for guar gum as I am sticking with all organic ingredients.
-That being said, I've made two batches now and both have filled up a little over three squares in the Tovolo ice tray, is that about right?
-I noticed when I was heating the butter on medium high heat that it started to brown and solidify a bit... is that normal?
-I'm making it primarily to use on my cupcakes and although the flavor is great, after creating my frosting I can still smell the vinegar, not taste, only smell. It's bothersome and I'm wondering if you've tried the recipe with the lemon, salt and agar agar instead?
Thanks so much again!

Owner's reply

Thanks RunicBaked! I usually use the Tovolo ice cube tray that makes the large cubes (that's linked in this recipe). I usually fill up two cubes worth and sometimes have a little left over. If you're using Tovolo's smaller size cube tray, it makes sense that you'd probably be making three smaller cubes.

Vegan Butter may brown and solidify slightly if exposed to medium-high heat for a bit over time, but in the recipe I call for the coconut oil to be heated to just the melting point. This is so things can solidify as fast as possible resulting in smaller ice crystals once it goes to the freezer. Traditional dairy butter browns when exposed to heat also. I'm planning on making a Brown Vegan Butter recipe soon so there's a vegan option for that.

Sensitivities to vinegar vary. I must not be that sensitive to it because I love it and tend to use it liberally; I have a carousel in my pantry for just assorted vinegars! Some people find the acidity/vinegar level of this Vegan Butter to be too much. Feel free to reduce it to your liking. Also keep in mind that when Vegan Butter is heated, you're going to notice the vinegar notes more due to more volatile vinegar compounds getting into the surrounding air and being sensed by your sense of smell. When you're eating Vegan Butter in normal conditions, this should't be the case. Also, as I mentioned in another comment, lately I've found that 1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar and 1/2 teaspoon coconut vinegar results in better butter flavor with less of the vinegar "funk". I'll probably be updating all Vegan Butter recipes to reflect this after a little more testing. Good luck!

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I tired this recipe for the first time today using coconut milk and sunflower lecithin and my hand held immersion blender and I am very happy with the results! Thank you for working on and sharing this recipe. I am going to play a little with reducing the salt and vinegar, trying other acids and maybe increasing the gum or mixing with coco butter but still very happy with the initial results. I was a vegan for 8 years but became soy and gluten intolerant in 2009 and went back to eating meat, eggs and dairy. I feel my health has suffered and am slowly going back to a vegan/vegetarian hybrid of something, lol. And I have been baking from scratch for almost 50 years and have to re-learn and try new gluten -free recipes. I have friends that have food allergies so I have been working on vegan baking, this is perfect! Thanks again

Very Happy With My First Attempt!!

I tired this recipe for the first time today using coconut milk and sunflower lecithin and my hand held immersion blender and I am very happy with the results! Thank you for working on and sharing this recipe. I am going to play a little with reducing the salt and vinegar, trying other acids and maybe increasing the gum or mixing with coco butter but still very happy with the initial results. I was a vegan for 8 years but became soy and gluten intolerant in 2009 and went back to eating meat, eggs and dairy. I feel my health has suffered and am slowly going back to a vegan/vegetarian hybrid of something, lol. And I have been baking from scratch for almost 50 years and have to re-learn and try new gluten -free recipes. I have friends that have food allergies so I have been working on vegan baking, this is perfect! Thanks again

Owner's reply

So glad the Vegan Butter worked out VegasBev! Cheers to being open minded and figuring out what works for you. I've done some tests with vinegars and found that using 1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar and 1/2 teaspoon coconut vinegar produces even better flavor. I'm probably going to update all of my Vegan Butter recipes to reflect this after I do a little more testing. I also have soy-free Vegan Butters here if you do a search in the upper right-hand-corner of this page.

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Hi! First of all, I wanted to thank you, Mattie, for this wonderful recipe. I love how you delved into the science of creating butter. That's how I approach my cooking/baking as well. I'm not vegan but I'm allergic to dairy so this recipe has been a godsend!

For those of you who don't like to use gums, I just wanted to share that I was able to successfully use psyllium husk powder in lieu of the xanthan! I ground up whole husk psyllium in my spice grinder to a fine powder and substituted 1:1 for the xanthan. Since the soluble fiber in psyllium husk is hydrophilic in nature, it worked very similarly to xanthan (it held bubbles when whipped and made the butter malleable). Since the psyllium is ground up into a fine powder, it doesn't make the butter grainy. It doesn't negatively contribute to the taste profile, either.
Cheers!

substitute psyllium husk powder for xanthan gum!

Hi! First of all, I wanted to thank you, Mattie, for this wonderful recipe. I love how you delved into the science of creating butter. That's how I approach my cooking/baking as well. I'm not vegan but I'm allergic to dairy so this recipe has been a godsend!

For those of you who don't like to use gums, I just wanted to share that I was able to successfully use psyllium husk powder in lieu of the xanthan! I ground up whole husk psyllium in my spice grinder to a fine powder and substituted 1:1 for the xanthan. Since the soluble fiber in psyllium husk is hydrophilic in nature, it worked very similarly to xanthan (it held bubbles when whipped and made the butter malleable). Since the psyllium is ground up into a fine powder, it doesn't make the butter grainy. It doesn't negatively contribute to the taste profile, either.
Cheers!

Owner's reply

Thanks irenelee! I've been meaning to play around with psyllium husk powder. I knew there was a better use for it than mixing it with water and chugging it daily. Life is just too short for that;) I think flax gel would probably work too. The emulsification is being taken care of by the lecithin so anything that blocks ice crystals from getting too big (which gives it softness and elasticity) and that allows a tiny bit of air bubbles to be trapped should work as a substitute for xanthan. Once I get a chance to to a couple tests, I'll update the Vegan Butter recipes with xanthan options such as your great substitute. Nice work and thanks for sharing!

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I haven't made this yet. Rather I wanted to say thank you for posting it. Since learning about palm oil, I've thought that we just were not going to be eating desserts (or at least not most of them) anymore (not that that would be a bad thing for our health, but the holidays are coming up and nice to have a treat). This is very helpful.

Reviewed by
Carolyn
November 02, 2013

I haven't made this yet. Rather I wanted to say thank you for posting it. Since learning about palm oil, I've thought that we just were not going to be eating desserts (or at least not most of them) anymore (not that that would be a bad thing for our health, but the holidays are coming up and nice to have a treat). This is very helpful.

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Hello! I think this recipe is great. Here, we almost dont have vegan (or healthier) options. So I was wondering if i could replace the coconout oil for sunflower oil? or maybe for a coconout butter (that i made at home)! thank you so much for all the information!

Cheers,

Irina

Rating

5.0

Reviewed by
Irina
October 31, 2013

a question from Argentina

Hello! I think this recipe is great. Here, we almost dont have vegan (or healthier) options. So I was wondering if i could replace the coconout oil for sunflower oil? or maybe for a coconout butter (that i made at home)! thank you so much for all the information!

Cheers,

Irina

Owner's reply

Hi Irina! Coconut oil is used in the recipe because it has a certain amount of firmness when chilled to the temperature of traditional dairy-based butter. Sunflower oil wouldn't work as a substitute for the coconut oil because the Vegan Butter wouldn't solidify when chilled. However, you could substitute the canola oil for sunflower oil in this recipe. Good luck!

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Hi there,
I have got a bottle of organic soy lecithin powder. can that be in replacement for soy lecithin called in the recipe?

alternative for soy lecithin

Hi there,
I have got a bottle of organic soy lecithin powder. can that be in replacement for soy lecithin called in the recipe?

Owner's reply

Hi geeforgladys! soy lecithin powder, in the small amount called for in this recipe, should be able to be substituted in equal measurements to soy lecithin granules. So in this case it would be 2 1/4 teaspoons. Good luck!

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I actually came across this post doing a search to try to find Earth Balance sticks in bulk! I like to bake regularly and, accordingly, blow through a lot of Earth Balance (read: blow through a lot of money on vegan butter!).

I was thinking: I need to buy this stuff in bulk and just freeze some of it so I always have a supply.

But, this sounds intriguing.... my number one priority is that it works seamlessly in place of Earth Balance (which most vegan baking books call for), followed closely by taste and price.

Question: since I don't normally buy soy milk (quit using it when almond and coconut milks became readily available, based on taste), can you recommend a particular brand?

Do you want something unsweetened or do you want "plain"?

Back when I bought soy milk regularly, I used unsweetened Silk but maybe there is something better? I keep a canister of powdered (Better than Milk brand) soy milk (which I actually like MUCH better than the soy milk I used to buy but I think that is because the powdered stuff has more additives and is much sweeter) but that may not be the best choice for making vegan butter. Any thoughts?

I have also noticed, very recently, several cookbook authors recommending soy milk as the first choice for certain recipes (so maybe I need to start keeping some on hand?).

Reviewed by
KHolzwart
October 25, 2013

can't wait to try this

I actually came across this post doing a search to try to find Earth Balance sticks in bulk! I like to bake regularly and, accordingly, blow through a lot of Earth Balance (read: blow through a lot of money on vegan butter!).

I was thinking: I need to buy this stuff in bulk and just freeze some of it so I always have a supply.

But, this sounds intriguing.... my number one priority is that it works seamlessly in place of Earth Balance (which most vegan baking books call for), followed closely by taste and price.

Question: since I don't normally buy soy milk (quit using it when almond and coconut milks became readily available, based on taste), can you recommend a particular brand?

Do you want something unsweetened or do you want "plain"?

Back when I bought soy milk regularly, I used unsweetened Silk but maybe there is something better? I keep a canister of powdered (Better than Milk brand) soy milk (which I actually like MUCH better than the soy milk I used to buy but I think that is because the powdered stuff has more additives and is much sweeter) but that may not be the best choice for making vegan butter. Any thoughts?

I have also noticed, very recently, several cookbook authors recommending soy milk as the first choice for certain recipes (so maybe I need to start keeping some on hand?).

Owner's reply

Great questions KHolzwart! I prefer soy milk for baking because in my experience, its protein content (aka "solids") tends to increase the richness of baked items. Also, if you coagulate it slightly with an acid such as apple cider vinegar (as in this recipe), you get all sorts of bonus creamy, complex flavors that get produced as some of the proteins break down and amino acids break free. This barely happens with nut milk and doesn't happen at all in other non-dairy milks that lack protein, such as coconut milk and rice milk. This means that using good quality soy milk should actually make your Vegan Butter taste better.

The soy milk I prefer the most by far is EdenSoy because it contains the most protein and it's one of the only soy milks that doesn't contain thickeners like carageenan and other questionable or unnecessary additives. I don't recommend using powdered soy milk. Most of it is just starches with "natural flavors" added. The low protein content doesn't lie (although I do use the brand you referenced in some applications). Another reason I like EdenSoy is that it comes in those TetraPak containers so you can store a bunch of them in your fallout shelter for future use -or if you forget to go to the store;)

My second go-to brand is WestSoy because it's good quality and doesn't belong to one of the huge food companies that are trying to water down organic food standards (to my knowledge).

I prefer unsweetened soy milk but you can use regular in most baking applications, including my Vegan Butters and it'll work fine. Good luck!

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My husband became lactose intolerant three years ago and that put an end to many things I used to make. While we are not vegan, I have turned to many vegan items to substitute for what I used to use. We have recently come across a soy heavy cream! Worked wonders in mashed potatoes! I am wondering if you have experimented with this at all. We got it from Trader Joe's in St. Louis.

Reviewed by
Melanie
October 15, 2013

possible alternative

My husband became lactose intolerant three years ago and that put an end to many things I used to make. While we are not vegan, I have turned to many vegan items to substitute for what I used to use. We have recently come across a soy heavy cream! Worked wonders in mashed potatoes! I am wondering if you have experimented with this at all. We got it from Trader Joe's in St. Louis.

Owner's reply

Hi Melanie! I haven't tried the soy creamer from Trader Joes but I have had vegan soy creamer and it works pretty well for a cream substitute, even in ice creams. It would probably work great in vegan butter! instead of soy milk!

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Hi Mattie,

Sometimes when I make your awesome butter, the consistency turns out to be a bit grainy.
Something closer to solid coconut oil texture. I'd like my butter to be creamier, of course, and closer to real butter in smoothness.
Can't put my finger on the reason, though, since minor changes in measurements can occur.

So from your experience, which ingredient in this recipe contributes the most to smoothness
Would you improve the grainy mouth feel, by decreasing the amount of coconut oil,
Or better add more lecithin to the mixture?
Also, do you think that the type of lecithin used, contributes to different results?

I could, of course, spend hours experimenting until I got it right.
But I was hoping that your understanding of raw materials could make it more efficient. :)

Reviewed by
Anat
October 15, 2013

Making the butter smoother

Hi Mattie,

Sometimes when I make your awesome butter, the consistency turns out to be a bit grainy.
Something closer to solid coconut oil texture. I'd like my butter to be creamier, of course, and closer to real butter in smoothness.
Can't put my finger on the reason, though, since minor changes in measurements can occur.

So from your experience, which ingredient in this recipe contributes the most to smoothness
Would you improve the grainy mouth feel, by decreasing the amount of coconut oil,
Or better add more lecithin to the mixture?
Also, do you think that the type of lecithin used, contributes to different results?

I could, of course, spend hours experimenting until I got it right.
But I was hoping that your understanding of raw materials could make it more efficient. :)

Owner's reply

Hi Anat! There's a couple issues that you could experiment with if it's turning out a little too grainy for you. First, if it's turning out a bit grainy and hard you could substitute with 1 less Tablespoon coconut oil for 1 more Tablespoon canola oil to make the vegan butter softer.

If hardness isn't an issue, the graininess could be caused by the mixture solidifying too slowly, resulting in larger crystalized solids. Making sure the mixture is as close to room temperature as possible and going right into a super cold freezer will ensure that the mixture hardens (aka crystalizes) quickly into microscopic crystals which will be perceived as smooth on your palate. If I had a vegan butter company, I'd quickly cool my mixture in super cold freezers. Super fast freezing is one of the ways commercial ice cream is made to be so smooth. Crystals actually "grow" the most, right before the solidification point. Hope this helps!

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I have a question. My house stays warm and my coconut oil is always at room temperature and liquid. Would I still be able to use it in this recipe ? I am new to vegan cooking.
Thanks,
Jen

question

I have a question. My house stays warm and my coconut oil is always at room temperature and liquid. Would I still be able to use it in this recipe ? I am new to vegan cooking.
Thanks,
Jen

Owner's reply

Hi JFiquette! It's no problem if your coconut oil is melted at room temperature. You're going to just mix it with the other ingredients and put it in the freezer to solidify into cube form. If you leave your vegan butter out in a hot room for an extended period, it'll melt slightly faster than a stick of traditional dairy-based butter will due to coconut oil's slightly lower melt point.

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I am so glad that I found this site! As a recent vegan convert upon my return to the states (I'd been living in Japan for nine years. Japan is extremely unfriendly to vegetarians, let alone vegans!), I was looking for a recipe for vegan butter to spread on my toast.

This butter is amazing!! It's smooth and looks and smells more like buttery spreads than butter itself does, which is perfect for me! It is a little bit hard, so I suggest replacing more of the coconut oil with olive. I will be doing this next time to see if it works for me!

YUM!!`

I am so glad that I found this site! As a recent vegan convert upon my return to the states (I'd been living in Japan for nine years. Japan is extremely unfriendly to vegetarians, let alone vegans!), I was looking for a recipe for vegan butter to spread on my toast.

This butter is amazing!! It's smooth and looks and smells more like buttery spreads than butter itself does, which is perfect for me! It is a little bit hard, so I suggest replacing more of the coconut oil with olive. I will be doing this next time to see if it works for me!

A Question re: the Vegan Butter...

Great question Nook! This is a really dumb way of me trying to be precise with the fundamentally flawed US volume measuring system;) When I say 1/4 cup + 2 teaspoons soy milk I actually mean for you to measure out 1/4 cup of soy milk, then measure out another 2 teaspoons of soy milk. It's the same for the salt. I could say measure out 14 teaspoons of soy milk but I wouldn't want to force everyone to measure out a whole 14 teaspoons of soy milk individually- that would be horrible! Eventually, I'll have the option of metric weight measurements with all my recipes too (for my friends outside of the US), but it's going to involve an incredible amount of work getting everything converted to metric.

I would have loved to just round down or up but in my recipes, taste comes first, ease of measurements come second. Hope this clarifies things for you!